Soft spots usually cannot be seen. Take the heel of your hand and press down hard on the top and sides of the hulls. Any soft areas will be very noticable sometimes you can even hear a sound as the foam compresses. Again if you get a good boat do not let anyone jump on the hulls or even walk on the middle. I have seen some hulls get soft from sitting in the water for long periods of time. Hope this helpsFormer Hobie Admiral Gary

Where depends on which boat we're talking about. They tend to develop wherever the laminate is repeatedly compressed. On the 14 and 16, the foredeck just forward of the trampoline is a prime spot - it's where people step on to the boat. On the 17 and 18, they tend to develop where the skipper sits, just forward of the rear crossbar.

Any size is bad, larger ones are just worse. Soft spots are just like cancer - caught early and treated, they may never reappear or spread. The larger they are, the harder they are to fix completely, and they will spread.

can a 5-6 inch area be sucessfully repaired or should one run if that is what they are seeing? the boat I am going to see tonight is a hobie 16, do not know what year, but has two main sails, trailer, the only thing wrong is the mast step is broken. Price is $600 (probably 500 after some banter)

Okay, I bought my H16 last week and the hulls look great, the sails are okay, so I am almost ready for it to sail. It is funny, after seeing that video I went back to my club and the H16 my club has has real bad soft spots on the top of the hulls, almost as bad as the ones in the video.... I hadn't really noticed until I was looking for it. It does sail fine despite the soft spots. My new H16 does not have any soft spots!!!